course for a beginner

WarrenHummel

WarrenHummel

Blues Newbie
Hi this is for Griff or anyone who wants to answer and has some input , I just purchased the ABGU , I enjoy it am having alot of fun with it ,having to use my 335 at this point because the bridge on the acoustic cracked . oh well life goes on going to the shop next week . My big question ,my 15 year old son expressed the derire to learn to play the guitar . Would Griffs beginning blues guitar be the best for him. He would be starting from square one . he knows nothing . Hes been trying to work with u-tube , I think a course from Griff would be a much better fit . any feedback would be much appreciated , He was trying to use my ABGU and i could see him getting all kinds of frustrated . And i don;t want to spend money on any garabge courses . Well anyway thanks in advance for all the help. Warren Hummel
 
tommytubetone

tommytubetone

Great Lakes
I'm thinking an absolute beginner might be better off with in person lessons to start with. I think Griff's course assumes you have some basic skills down, but I could be wrong about that. I haven't done that course.
 
D. R. Miller

D. R. Miller

Good News Blues
Maybe Classic Rock Guitar Unleashed or Beginning Blues Guitar. For personal lessons for a teen I'd recommend "School of Rock" if you have a franchise close by.
 
MarkDyson

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
I'm thinking that for starting from square one you might want to look at the free TrueFire beginner's courses. They have one general and one blues-oriented and, IIRC, they start all the way back at how to hold the guitar and what the part names are. Beginner Blues from Griff is great but I think it still assumes some basic knowledge.
 
Thatman

Thatman

Playin' for the fun of it.
My son became self taught from the age of 16 and he would use shop bought guitar magazines, 'Total Guitar', for basic tab and instructions. He soon became very proficient. However, compared to what is now available for starters in terms of tuition some course are much better starter packages. Having used Beginner Blues Guitar BBG myself I would say that an enthusiastic teenager would benefit enormously from this course. Remember, a keen teenager has a remarkable capacity to master subjects that interest them, so in essence you are the best person to answer this question because you know if he can follow his interests.

Good luck to you both and I hope the hobby takes off for him. (y)
 
snarf

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
Al Holloway said:
The Justin Sanderco begineers course looks good https://www.justinguitar.com/categories/1-beginner-guitar-course I've not done it as I found it after Griff. Justin is good for song lessons and has a good style like Griff. I find they complement each other. I believe you can do the course free from the site, or purchase the dvd's and book with some extras.
Click to expand...
I have suggested Justin to an out of state friend from when I was a kid whose husband wanted to learn to play guitar. He was starting at the "a guitar has strings?" stage - absolute beginner. I initially suggested Griff's Beginning Blues course, but she got hung up on the "Blues" in the title and kept telling me he didn't necessarily want to learn blues so much as just general playing. I pointed her to Justin, and she said that her husband started there. Last I saw them he will never be the next EVH, but he can do the sit-around-the-livingroom-and-have-a-good-time-singing thing really well.

Justin is probably the only other internet teacher that I keep up with. If I'm trying to learn a specific song, I'll hit his site and see if he's done a lesson on it. His lesson style works really well for me like Griff's does. If Griff doesn't have a lesson on it, I'll check Justin before I go anywhere else.

ymmv
 
MikeS

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
@WarrenHummel
Beginning Blues Guitar. No question. it is aimed at the raw beginner. With your help he can probably run through it pretty quickly, then he can decide where he wants to go from there.
 
TerryH

TerryH

Blues Newbie
I had a Spanish guitar about 40 years ago. I never really learned to play and since then I hadn’t touched a guitar. When I went back to the guitar a few years ago I had, amazingly remembered three or four chord shapes but that was about all. BBG did work for me. I don’t think the “Blues” in the title should necessarily be a turn off. It is just a way into starting to play. Who knows where he might go from there. The barre chords towards the end of the course could be a challenge, but the early lessons are a good way to get him to play something simple that sounds like a song. Like everyone else here I would recommend Justin’s basic course, if not for anything else it does give a different perspective. I believe they are also free. Both courses are quite complimentary to each other for a complete beginner. I am assuming one to one lessons aren’t an option.
 
sloslunas

sloslunas

NM Blues
BBG is an absolute winner for new guys. I also, love Justin Sandercoe...he is so much fun and down to earth at any level.

Steve
 
Griff

Griff

Vice Assistant General Manager
Staff member
BBG is the only course I have aimed at a rank beginner who has never picked up a guitar before...

For a 15 year old, who will undoubtedly A) pick things up quickly, and B) want to learn more styles and types of music, I can't recommend "Strumming And Rhythm Mastery" highly enough.

Once he can play some chords, that course will take him far. It's one I would give away if I could just because it's something EVERYONE needs.
 
OG_Blues

OG_Blues

Guitar Geezer
tommytubetone said:
I'm thinking an absolute beginner might be better off with in person lessons to start with. I think Griff's course assumes you have some basic skills down, but I could be wrong about that. I haven't done that course.
Click to expand...
With all due respect to the content of Griff's courses, I'm 100% with tommytubetone on this - for someone that knows nothing and has never held a guitar, you can't substitute for a live person providing initial guidance. There are just too many little mechanical things that a beginner can do wrong that are hard to undo later, and may cause the beginner to become an early quitter as well. Those things, and the kind of feedback a teacher can provide cannot be easily learned from a book - incorrect technique and bad habits are bound to get started.
By all means, get Griff's courses too, and maybe even have the teacher commit to use them as part of the basis for learning, but find a teacher.
For those that say 90% of guitar teachers are incompetent - that may well be true for many students at an intermediate and higher level - I would not argue that. there are many fantastic players that are not adept at teaching. But if we're talking about a rank beginner - there should be any number of people capable of getting you off on the right foot. You're not married to the teacher. You only need to stick with him/her until it no longer works for you, or you find a better way.
 
WarrenHummel

WarrenHummel

Blues Newbie
Well I think we are going with BBG and the justin route . A sitdown teacher at this point is not in the cards . But just wanted to thank everyone for there feedback . May just use justins free stuff to see if My son is really serious and wants to stick with it before i invest any money. Really do love Griffs courses . ANd thanks Griff for the reccommendations. Warren Hummel
 
WarrenHummel

WarrenHummel

Blues Newbie
Tom45 said:
I think that's a good idea. If he sticks with it, and makes some progress, then get BBG.
Click to expand...
Hi Tom 45 thanks for the feedback . I mean BBG is not cheap ,but probulary a very good course . I just purchased the ACoustic blues guitar course a few weeks ago and i'm having alot of fun with it . realized my timing stinks . But think this would be too advanced for my son . I think that the justin route is the way to go because we are dealing with a teenager and then tend to jump from one thing to the next . Will have to keep you posted on how he does . Warren
 
A

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
I would go with the Justin course to get the basics. Then if he appears to be sticking with it, once the basics are down, then follow Griff's advice of "Strumming And Rhythm Mastery". I don't know why but I never really gelled with BBGU. It was all the small chords and single note stuff. I found the full open chords and strumming along style lessons much easier to get along with early on.

cheers

Al.
 
david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
snarf said:
I have suggested Justin to an out of state friend from when I was a kid whose husband wanted to learn to play guitar. He was starting at the "a guitar has strings?" stage - absolute beginner. I initially suggested Griff's Beginning Blues course, but she got hung up on the "Blues" in the title and kept telling me he didn't necessarily want to learn blues so much as just general playing. I pointed her to Justin, and she said that her husband started there. Last I saw them he will never be the next EVH, but he can do the sit-around-the-livingroom-and-have-a-good-time-singing thing really well.

Justin is probably the only other internet teacher that I keep up with. If I'm trying to learn a specific song, I'll hit his site and see if he's done a lesson on it. His lesson style works really well for me like Griff's does. If Griff doesn't have a lesson on it, I'll check Justin before I go anywhere else.

ymmv
Click to expand...
I agree that maybe the person doesn't want to "learn blues so much as just general playing." I also like Justin's style of teaching. I have one of his song books that is all over the map stylistically, sometimes fun to just pick a song at random and play around with it.
 
Elio

Elio

Student Of The Blues
WarrenHummel said:
Hi this is for Griff or anyone who wants to answer and has some input , I just purchased the ABGU , I enjoy it am having alot of fun with it ,having to use my 335 at this point because the bridge on the acoustic cracked . oh well life goes on going to the shop next week . My big question ,my 15 year old son expressed the derire to learn to play the guitar . Would Griffs beginning blues guitar be the best for him. He would be starting from square one . he knows nothing . Hes been trying to work with u-tube , I think a course from Griff would be a much better fit . any feedback would be much appreciated , He was trying to use my ABGU and i could see him getting all kinds of frustrated . And i don;t want to spend money on any garabge courses . Well anyway thanks in advance for all the help. Warren Hummel
Click to expand...

Griffs Beginning Blues Guitar course is perfect for an absolute beginner, or even some with some existing skills.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top